This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002359 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/PMBS, INL/AAE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KCRM ASEC RP
SUBJECT: ILLEGAL "JUETENG" LOTTERY POTENTIALLY THREATENS 
ANOTHER PRESIDENT 
 
REF: A. MANILA 2142 
 
     ¶B. MANILA 1506 
     ¶C. MANILA 0486 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  The illegal lottery known as "jueteng" 
played a prominent role in the downfall of former President 
Estrada, and a newly brewing scandal related to jueteng could 
potentially have a similar impact on the Arroyo 
Administration.  Despite Malacanang's vows to crack down on 
jueteng, and the formation of a special task force to combat 
illegal gambling, many view jueteng as a political rather 
than a law enforcement problem, best solved through 
legalization.  The Catholic Church remains adamant against 
legalization, however.  The opposition will continue to seek 
leads of jueteng payoffs directly to the First Family, at 
least to embarrass if not topple the government.  END SUMMARY. 
 
WHAT IS JUETENG? 
---------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Jueteng (from the Spanish verb juego "to play") is 
an illegal lottery similar to the "policy" and "numbers" 
games popular in the United States before the legalization of 
state lotteries.  Bettors choose a two-number combination 
between one and 37, placing wagers with "coriadors" 
(collectors/runners), who visit homes, markets, food stalls, 
or workplaces.  The coriadors return to the jueteng office, 
where an examiner or "revisador" enters the bets for the 
drawing supervised by a table manager.  Inside a bottle or 
box-like receptacle called a "tambiolo" are 37 small wooden 
balls about 1 centimeter in diameter; the tambiolo is tilted 
at one end, and the first ball that rolls out into the table 
manager's hand is the first winning number.  After the 
drawing of the first number, the table manager returns the 
wooden ball to the tambiolo to draw the second number. 
Drawings may take place two or three times a day.  Cheating 
can and does occur.  According to sources, jueteng bosses 
occasionally -- or even frequently -- arrange for number 
combinations not heavily bet, or not bet at all. 
 
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF? 
------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Jueteng played a central part in the January 2001 
"EDSA II" removal of President Joseph 8Erap8 Estrada, after 
credible evidence surfaced linking him to kickbacks from 
jueteng operations.  Estrada, who was indicted for plunder (a 
capital offense), remains under house arrest while his trial 
drags on.  Recent press reports have connected First 
Gentleman Mike Arroyo, son Congressman Mikey Arroyo, and 
GMA's brother-in-law Congressman Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo to 
payoffs from jueteng operators as well as PNP officials.  The 
Filipino press is having a field day reporting on fresh 
allegations from Catholic leaders (ref a) and opposition 
figures, while editorials have noted that all it will take is 
for one credible witness -- like Governor Chavit Singsong in 
the Estrada case -- to go public.  However, there is little 
enthusiasm for a new impeachment process that could 
constitutionally bump up Vice President Noli De Castro as 
President, despite a fairly widespread belief in elite 
circles that the Arroyos are indeed directly linked to 
jueteng payoffs. 
 
POLICE & POLITICIANS PART OF THE JUETENG NATION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) According to the "Jueteng Nation" report by the 
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), 
jueteng is intimately intertwined in the dynamics of clan 
politics and political patronage.  Reportedly as part of the 
protection racket, local Philippine National Police (PNP) 
officers and politicians pocket 20 to 30 percent of jueteng 
profits.  The PCIJ report described this pattern of graft as 
repeated at the provincial, regional, and national levels. 
Recent press reports estimate that jueteng generates at least 
30 billion pesos (over US$549 million) a year. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Based on anecdotal evidence, Mission law 
enforcement officials believe widespread corruption from 
jueteng permeates the PNP.  The large population of rural 
poor in the six central Luzon provinces of Region III is a 
major source for lucrative jueteng profits.  Regional police 
officials have estimated that each small town in President 
Arroyo's home province in Pampanga could have as many as five 
betting stations, with a total daily take of US$30,000 per 
town.  In recent press reports, unnamed sources have accused 
"a relative of a top government official" (widely believed to 
be the First Gentlemen) of doling out PNP assignments in 
Central Luzon in exchange for 60 percent of the jueteng 
protection money paid to Luzon PNP commanders.  PNP officers 
in these provinces reportedly also use jueteng kickbacks to 
lobby for equally lucrative national level commands, such as 
the Criminal Investigation and Detective Group (CIDG) and the 
Intelligence Group (IG).  Many PNP Chiefs have had previous 
regional commands in the Central Luzon area, where many 
politicians and police enjoy kinship and business ties to 
suspected (but never convicted) jueteng bosses.  Most 
observers believe that jueteng is now nationwide, however, 
not just concentrated in Luzon. 
 
THE PREDICTABLE RESPONSE: CREATE A TASK FORCE 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Malacanang Palace has publicly called for a 
comprehensive investigation into jueteng and the recipients 
of its illegal largesse, regardless of where investigations 
may lead.  The PNP announced the formation of yet another 
special task force to conduct "aggressive" operations against 
illegal gambling.  "Task Force Anti-illegal Gambling 
Operations," headed by Chief Superintendent Ricardo Dapat 
from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 
and staffed by CIDG personnel, will focus on stamping out 
jueteng in central Luzon.  PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao has 
amended the PNP's existing "three-strike" policy on jueteng 
to a "one-strike" version - commanders who have jurisdiction 
over areas that have been raided once for jueteng and illegal 
gambling activities will lose their assignments.  Among 
commanders relieved in earlier Arroyo Administration 
anti-jueteng campaigns was PNP General Edgar Aglipay, who 
nonetheless quickly recovered and was appointed by President 
Arroyo as PNP Chief in 2003, serving until his retirement in 
March 2005. 
 
PNP PRIVATELY SEES JUETENG AS A POLITICAL PROBLEM 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Privately, Embassy interlocutors view jueteng not as 
a law enforcement but as a political problem.  In their view, 
jueteng pre-dates the arrival of the Spanish to the 
archipelago.  The PNP does not want to waste its time, 
effort, and manpower in a fruitless effort to suppress 
illegal gambling without the genuine support of the GRP's 
political leadership.  Even the most honest and zealous cops 
in the PNP expect that penalties for all but the biggest 
jueteng operators would be small.  Due to numerous cut-outs, 
even a concerted investigation might never catch the people 
at the top, they predicted.  Despite the Catholic Church's 
opposition to jueteng and even more so to its legalization, 
PNP contacts have expressed the belief that most political 
leaders would oppose jueteng legalization because a honest 
game would cut into profits that end up in the hands of 
politicians.  Many in the PNP see legalization as a means to 
provide more revenue to the national and local governments, 
which could be used to increase pay and benefits for the PNP. 
 (Note: Some PNP officers regularly rely on jueteng 
protection money to supplement meager base salaries, which 
start at $158 a month for the lowest-ranking police officer. 
End note).  According to press reports, Budget Secretary 
Emilia Boncodin also would favor legalization of jueteng, 
both as a source of revenue as and as a means of 
"entertainment."  Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, 
Secretary of Interior and Local Government Angelo Reyes, and 
 
SIPDIS 
Secretary of Public Works and Highways Hermogenes Ebdane (a 
 
SIPDIS 
former PNP chief) reportedly also favor legalization. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  The likelihood either of stamping out or 
legalizing jueteng remains low; too many powerful people 
benefit.  The imminent risk of impeachment of President 
Arroyo also remains low for now, but this could change 
suddenly -- and with still unpredictable results -- with the 
emergence of a "smoking gun" or a high profile, credible 
witness claiming direct jueteng payoff links to GMA or her 
immediate family members. 
MUSSOMELI